My work experience has been a bit less than formal for most of high school career. For my first two years, I would help my friends in various subjects throughout the year. However, most of it was in math or in science, which I was actively shown as one of the top in the class. I would spend about six hours a month with various people, tutoring and teaching them about different equations, ways to solve them, and small tips and tricks that I came up with. These first experiences with teaching has grown into a passion that will drive me forward throughout my career.
When I got into my junior year, I was able to become a teacher’s assistant for the middle school. I was glad to be helping a teacher out, especially when days got long, and small things like filing graded work and grading papers became a chore. She really appreciated my consistency, my willingness to work in various situations, and my overall demeanor, especially around her class. Speaking about her class, they liked me a lot, and would talk to me from time to time about Pokemon cards, art, and whatever else they were interested in. It was an amazing experience, to do a small part in helping a teacher out.
Currently, I am helping my high school basic math teacher with teaching the class. Being able to actually teach, along with the other chores of grading and filing, are giving me a closer experience to actually teaching. I love it, too. Out of the six people in the class, I have a great friendship with five of them, which allows me to talk to them peer-to-peer, something invaluable in a classroom where they might not want to do work that day. The teacher I help has expressed her gratitude various times, and I would not have it any other way. Having this experience is getting me geared up for actual intern work, and as I continue to help my peers throughout the rest of this year and through college, I will be as prepared as I can to teach on my own. For now, though, I will continue to hone my skills and prepare myself for teaching alone.